UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve

UmPhafa is a private nature reserve in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, close to the Drakensberg Mountains. Once managed for cattle and agriculture, the area had lost much of it's native wildlife and habitats.

In recent years, UmPhafa has been transformed into a private reserve, with hundreds of volunteers working hard to return the area to it's former glory. It is now home to a wide variety of wildlife, including white rhino, giraffe and kudu to reedbuck, blesbok and hartebeest. There are even rare sightings of eland, leopard and spotted hyena.

UmPhafa is special, because instead of revolving around tourists and the 'Big 5', it's dedicated to conservation, education and research. It aims to restore all of the species that once lived in the area to natural population levels (instead of the artificially high numbers of 'popular' species).

All in all, is you have a few weeks to spare in Southern Africa, then get off the well worn tourist trail and spend a few weeks working on UmPhafa. You will get a perspective that very few conventional tourists have the opportunity to see.